Lionel Messi pointed his finger at MLS commissioner Don Garber on multiple occasions while speaking with him after Inter Miami’s game with Cruz Azul on Wednesday.

Postgame video showed Messi pointing at Garber and speaking to him before walking away. He then appears later in the video pointing at him and talking to him again. Another video showed them pointing at each other as they spoke.

MLS declined comment on the matter. Inter Miami didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The exchange came after Inter Miami defeated Cruz Azul 2-0 to win the Campeones Cup. Messi scored the 100th goal of his Inter Miami career during the game.

This victory gave Inter Miami another trophy three years after Messi’s arrival. Miami won the Leagues Cup in 2023, the Supporters’ Shield in 2024 and MLS Cup in 2025.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Throughout his 17-start career, Angel Capital has showcased Group 1 potential.

However, a victory at the highest level has so far eluded the son of Harry Angel.

A pleasing piece of work on Tuesday morning, coupled with an advantageous barrier draw, provides Angel Capital with the opportunity to break through at Group 1 level in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

Angel Capital finished fourth in the Sir Rupert Clarke last year and has since gone on to place at Group 1 level in the C F Orr Stakes, the Newmarket Handicap and the William Reid Stakes.

The initial plan was for Angel Capital to contest the Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield the following Sunday. However, the presence of Tom Kitten, a natural topweight in Saturday’s race, prompted a strategic adjustment.

“We’ve got to win that Group 1,” trainer Chris Waller said. “I thought he might have been topweight, but when there is a higher rated horse in the race, so that helped him with his weight, so it’s an invitation to run. I’ve been happy with his runs, and he should be ready to peak third-up on Saturday.”

“His run in the Memsie Stakes was good, but it was tempo related. We learnt that he is more tractable now and doing everything right and from a good draw he can sit a little bit closer, and he doesn’t have to be out the back.”

Angel Capital is one of three runners Waller has entered for the Sir Rupert Clarke, alongside Lady Shenandoah and Sun God.

Lady Shenandoah was scratched from The 7 Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday, avoiding a clash with Autumn Glow after drawing barrier one at Caulfield.

A three-time Group 1 winner, all her victories were achieved as a three-year-old, and Waller is keen to add another top-flight success to her record as an older mare.

Waller indicated that bypassing a contest with Autumn Glow was a sensible decision, as both mares share similar ownership interests.

He highlighted the importance of the good draw on Saturday for Lady Shenandoah’s chances.

“She ran in the Manikato Stakes (at Moonee Valley) this time last year and had no luck from the wide draw,” Waller commented.

Waller stated that import Sun God has been a revelation since being kept to shorter distances.

“He probably seems a bit below Group 1 level at this stage, but he’s done nothing wrong since he’s been in Australia,” Waller said. “We’ve worked out he is a sprinter, not a stayer, and since he’s been trained that way, he’s been lethal fresh and putting a good record together. Hopefully he runs well on Saturday.”

Given the competitive nature of the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, checking the latest racing odds on Australian betting sites is a must.

Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been recalled to the England squad by Thomas Tuchel for the nation’s first internationals since the World Cup.

The pair were notable omissions from the 26-man World Cup squad that travelled to the United States in the summer. Palmer was snubbed by Tuchel after an injury-hampered 2025/26 resulted in a downturn in performance, while former Liverpool player Alexander-Arnold – who has played just once under Tuchel – was overlooked as a result of perceived defensive frailties.

However, the Chelsea star has got the new campaign off to a flyer under new Blues boss Xabi Alonso, scoring four goals and notching two assists across six games as part of a dynamite front three alongside Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro.

His return to form has been rewarded with a return to the Three Lions setup, joining the creative group of Rogers, Jude Bellingham and Eberechi Eze in what is England’s most stacked position. However, there is no place for Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White despite a brilliant start to the season.

Phil Foden was the other big name to miss out on World Cup selection, though his stuttered start to the new season – most recently being sent off in the Manchester derby – means his wait for a recall goes on. The Manchester City midfielder remains without a goal in 2026.

The other side of Manchester has fared better, with Kobbie Mainoo retained despite Manchester United’s dismal early-season run, while Marcus Rashford has been named as a winger option. Harry Maguire, who was outspoken about his disappointment of not being selected for the World Cup, remains out in the cold.

Mainoo was the only player included in the World Cup squad not to play a minute of football in the summer, with injury ruling him out of his best opportunity in the third-place play-off against France.

Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott and 18-year-old Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha get their first senior call-up after both were included in the support group that travelled to the United States to help England during their World Cup warm-up.

Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly, Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall and Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all also been named.

In total Tuchel has not called up nine players from the initial World Cup squad, with John Stones, Noni Madueke, and the Saudi-based pair of Ivan Toney, and Ollie Watkins dropped. Reece James has not been named after suffering an injury and missing Chelsea training this week, while Dean Henderson, Dan Burn, Jordan Henderson and former Tottenham full-back Djed Spence – who has yet to play for new club Inter Milan as he rebuilds his fitness – are all also unavailable for selection due to injury.

England squad in full

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, James Trafford, Jason Steele

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tino Livramento, Jarrad Branthwaite, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah, Lewis Hall, Nico O’Reilly

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Alex Scott

Forwards: Harry Kane, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Rio Ngumoha, Marcus Rashford, Morgan Rogers, Bukayo Saka

Who do England face in the first international break of the season?

England head into an extended three-week international break across the end of September and beginning of October, during which they will play their first four matches of the new Nations League campaign.

The Three Lions return to action against world champions Spain on Saturday 26 September, their first match at Wembley since enduring World Cup heartbreak at the hands of Argentina in the semi-finals.

They then face trips to Czech Republic on Tuesday 29 September and Croatia four days later, before welcoming Czech Republic to Wembley in the reverse fixture on Tuesday 6 October.

Kerala-based sports-tech startup Dartle has raised $100,000 in seed funding led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), as it looks to turn growing demand for digital tools in youth sports into a larger international business. The company plans to deploy the capital towards expanding its go-to-market operations, scaling in the US and adding more artificial intelligence (AI)-driven capabilities to its software platform.

The funding comes as Dartle seeks to build on its early traction across international markets, with the US emerging as a key growth market. The startup, founded by Nihal Pradeep, Swathi Krishnan and Nagaraj R Potti, is backed by accelerator Upekkha and has also been recognised by NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore. Its focus is on building a recurring-revenue software business around the operational and performance-management needs of youth sports and football academies.

Building an operating system for sports academies

Dartle operates a vertical business-to-business (B2B) software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform designed for youth sports and football academies. The platform brings several operational functions under one system, including scheduling, player performance analytics and parent engagement.

The startup is targeting a market where academies often rely on a combination of spreadsheets, messaging applications and manual processes to manage their operations. By bringing these functions onto a single platform, Dartle aims to reduce administrative work while giving coaches and academy administrators greater visibility into player development.

According to the company, its platform can reduce administrative workload by up to 75 per cent. Its data and performance-tracking tools are also designed to help academies monitor individual player development and improve athlete retention.

US market emerges as key growth driver

Dartle currently works with 14 academies across India, the Middle East, Nepal and the US. Its international expansion is increasingly centred on the American market, where the company is running eight paid pilots.

Targeting 100 academies and $1 million ARR

The new funding comes as Dartle looks to scale its customer base and increase recurring revenue. The company plans to onboard more than 100 sports academies globally over the next year and is targeting annual recurring revenue (ARR) of nearly $1 million.

AI will form a key part of that expansion. Dartle plans to deepen AI integrations within its platform as it seeks to offer academies more data-led tools for managing athletes and operations.

For the startup, the immediate focus is on converting its US pilots into wider adoption while expanding its footprint across international youth sports markets. Its growth strategy reflects a broader shift in sports towards technology platforms that combine operational management with player data and engagement tools.

Lock it in!

The Seattle Seahawks are putting 29-year-old quarterback Drew Lock under center for their Week 2 road matchup against the NFC West-rival Arizona Cardinals (Sunday afternoon at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX), as starter Sam Darnold nurses a glute injury that he sustained in their Week 1 win over the New England Patriots.

Here are five things to know about Lock:

Drew Lock balled out for the Missouri Tigers.

Serving as the Tigers’ starting quarterback from 2016-18 — and being part of the program from 2015-18 — Lock averaged 3,620.3 passing yards, 31.7 passing touchdowns, 10.3 interceptions and a 148.7 passer rating per season over that span, while completing 58.4% of his passes. Most notably, Lock led the SEC with 3,964 passing yards, 44 passing touchdowns and a 165.7 passer rating in 2017. Granted, he also led the conference with 13 interceptions. Missouri appeared in a bowl game with Lock in both 2017 and 2018.

Well before the Super Bowl, there was Mizzou and the Liberty Bowl. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Lock is second in Missouri history with 12,193 passing yards and 99 passing touchdowns.

In between Peyton Manning’s final season (2015) and Russell Wilson’s first season with the franchise (2022) — we’ll revisit this shortly — 11 different players started at quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Lock was one of those 11 players.

Denver selected Lock with the No. 42 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, with him starting a combined 21 games from 2019-21. Lock was the team’s primary quarterback in 2020, throwing for 2,933 yards, 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions across 13 starts, while posting a 75.4 passer rating and completing 57.3% of his passes. He also rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns.

So, why did Denver’s 2019 second-round pick only play three seasons for the team?

Lock was part of one of the biggest trades in NFL history.

In March 2022, the Broncos traded Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, two first-round picks, two-second round picks and a fifth-rounder to the Seahawks for star quarterback and then-nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson and a fourth-round pick.

The New York Giants entered their Week 17 home tilt against the Indianapolis Colts with the worst record in the NFL and two losses away from having the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Not on Lock’s watch.

After spending the bulk of the 2024 season as the team’s backup to Daniel Jones, Lock made five starts after New York released Jones following a 2-8 start, with Lock’s fourth start being arguably the best of his career and one of the best in Giants’ history. In what was a 45-33 win for the Giants, Lock threw for 309 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions, while posting a career-high 155.3 passer rating – it was the third-highest passer rating in a game in Giants’ history – completing 73.9% of his passes (17 of 23) and rushing for a score.

The Giants went on to pick third in the 2025 NFL Draft. That said, one could argue it worked out for New York, which selected Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Abdul Carter with the No. 3 pick and traded up to select Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart with the No. 25 pick. Dart and the Giants opened the 2026 season with a win at home over the Dallas Cowboys, with the second-year quarterback throwing for 230 yards and three touchdowns, posting a 134.2 passer rating and completing 79.3% of his passes (23 of 29) in the victory.

Of course, Lock landing in Seattle in 2022 and later playing one season for the Giants makes his presence with the Seahawks in 2026 his second act with the franchise.

Act 1 got off to a bumpy start for Lock, who lost a quarterback battle to Geno Smith in 2022, with Smith going on to be the team’s starting quarterback from 2022-24. With that said, Lock made two starts for the Seahawks in 2023, highlighted by hitting wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a go-ahead and eventual game-winning 29-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a Week 15 game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.

As for the present, Lock played all but the opening series in Seattle’s Week 1 win over New England, throwing for 187 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, while posting a 113.3 passer rating and completing 72.7% of his passes (16 of 22). Last year, Lock appeared in five regular-season games and one playoff game for the Seahawks, but he never made a start.

Sunday will mark Lock’s 29th NFL start.

NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has made it clear that Hardik Pandya will have to build his way back into international cricket through game time, with the all-rounder currently not part of India’s squads after not playing enough cricket since the IPL.

Following India’s 127-run win over Afghanistan in the third T20I in New Delhi on Thursday, Gambhir said Pandya’s immediate priority should be getting back on the field, including through the India A series, before pushing for a return to the senior sides.

“Hardik at the moment cannot bowl 10 overs, and he hasn’t played a lot of cricket since the IPL, so we don’t want to push him into international cricket because international cricket can be extremely tough on your body as well,” Gambhir said during the post-match press conference.

The India head coach also revealed that the message to Pandya has been straightforward: play, regain match fitness and then push for a place in both white-ball squads.

“And that was the clear message to him that if he can play that India A series, and then if everything goes well, he can come back and be part of the T20s and the one-day squad as well,” Gambhir said.

India could play Hardik and Nitish together

Gambhir’s comments also highlighted India’s plans to develop more than one seam-bowling all-rounder. Nitish Kumar Reddy, initially included in India’s 15-member Asian Games squad, has been withdrawn from the continental event and will instead feature in the ODI series against the West Indies.

Gambhir believes the move will give Reddy valuable game time and accelerate his development with the ball ahead of India’s future assignments.

“From Nitish’s point of view, it’s actually a great thing that he’s been withdrawn from the T20 format, and he’ll get game time against the West Indies as well,” he said. “We know how important a seam-bowling all-rounder will probably be in a year and when we go to South Africa. And once Hardik comes back, obviously it’s going to be good.”

The coach even suggested India could eventually accommodate both Pandya and Reddy in the same playing XI.

“Sometimes we could even go on to play both of them in the playing 11,” Gambhir said, while stressing that Pandya’s current bowling workload remains a factor.

“Hardik at the moment cannot bowl 10 overs,” he added.

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Reddy’s bowling development excites Gambhir

Gambhir was encouraged by Reddy’s progress as a seam-bowling all-rounder and believes having multiple players who can contribute with both bat and ball will give India greater flexibility.

“I think it’s good that we got Nitish now from the Asian Games so that now he can, and you could see the more he bowls, the better he becomes, and we have when you can develop a couple of seam-bowling all-rounders, it will always be handy,” Gambhir said.

Reddy will now get an opportunity to feature in the ODI series against the West Indies rather than the Asian Games, providing him with additional match exposure.

Abhishek’s hundred powers India to 3-0 sweep

The Hardik discussion came after India completed a commanding 3-0 T20I series sweep over Afghanistan. Abhishek Sharma smashed a record-breaking 108 off just 34 balls as India posted 221/7 in the third match in New Delhi.

Ravi Bishnoi and Reddy then claimed three wickets each as Afghanistan were bowled out for 94, their lowest total against India in T20Is and their heaviest defeat in the format.

Gambhir, however, said the focus inside the dressing room remained on impact rather than individual milestones.

“I can sit here and keep talking about his 100, but it’s just the impact. The only thing we talk about in that dressing room is how much impact we create with the bat and how much impact we can create with the ball,” Gambhir said.

India’s 100 runs in the powerplay was another major positive for Gambhir.

“T20 cricket is not about runs or wickets; it’s about how much impact you can create,” he said. “The biggest positive was we got a 100 in the powerplay that we have never done in my coaching tenure.”

Sep 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) jogs on the field during the game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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